King of France Charles 6: a mad ruler with a sad fate

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King of France Carl VI The Beloved is one of the most tragiccharacters of the Middle Ages. Having a noble lineage and full freedom of action, he became a hostage of his own mind. An unknown disease deprived the king of not only a bright future, but also branded him imperishable title "Mad."

Childhood of the ruler

Charles 6 was born on December 3, 1368 in Paris. His parents, Charles V Wise and Jeanne de Bourbon, are both direct descendants of Carla Valois. The future king became the fifth child in the account, and the third boy in the family. However, by the time of the coronation, Karl's two older brothers had died from diseases. And not the last tragedy that his biography contains.

Charles VI The madman lost virtually all his blood relatives. His mother, Jeanne, died during childbirth in 1378. Two years later, the incumbent king of France Carl V also died in his bed. Thus, on November 3, 1380, a 12-year-old boy rises to the throne, who later acquires the nickname "Beloved".

The recompense of regents

Given the young age of the king, it was necessary to chooseregent, capable of governing the country until his majority. For this position immediately began a serious struggle. Fortunately, before the Civil War, it did not happen: the parties were able to agree that the seat of the regent would be the brother of the previous ruler, Louis I Angevin.

At the same time, the main power still remainedGreat advice. It consisted of 50 people who represented the most successful families of France. The army remained under the command of the chief constable, Olivier de Clisson. In addition to all the power at the court passed into the hands of Jean Berriysky and Philip the Bold - the uncle of Charles VI on the maternal line.

Such a division led to the fact that eachthe party wanted to grab a bigger piece. Nobody thought about the country, everyone stuffed only their own pockets. Soon the treasury was emptied and the government had to raise taxes. As a consequence, Paris was overwhelmed by a series of revolts. All of them were suppressed by force, which led to even greater discontent on the part of ordinary citizens.

The same failed, and foreign policyregents. Acting alone, the king's uncles led multiple wars on all fronts. The only trophies won in these battles were the satisfied ambitions of the rulers. As for France itself, it has acquired absolutely nothing, except for exorbitant accounts for the maintenance of troops.

Charles VI - King of France

In the policy of Charles the Beloved began to delve closerto 17 years. Such a colorful title he acquired due to his appearance. In one of the chronicles, the historian describes the king as follows: "The young ruler turned into the most beautiful man of the kingdom: he is tall, strong, has a perceptive look and lush blond hair." It was rumored that Charles 6 could easily bend the horseshoe with his bare hands. And he also skillfully handled onions and loved to go hunting on weekends.

But with the formation of the ruler were explicitProblems. The thing is that the regents did not try to raise a wise king in him. On the contrary, they sought to lull his vigilance with lavish feasts and amusements. But do not believe that Charles 6 grew arrogant ignoramus, ignorant of the elementary norms of decency. No, contemporaries described him as a kind and polite king. However, his reluctance to rule the country and complete dependence on his uncles had a rather bad effect on Medieval France.

Time of calm

Only at the age of 20 did Charles 6 take over the country intheir hands. At least that's what he thought, and in fact the government simply moved on to others. Instead of the regents who were kicked out of the council, political problems began to be decided by the court party of the marmuzet. For the most part, these were the advisors of the previous king, who remained out of work for the past eight years.

The result of their rule was a small economicclimb. This was due to the fact that the marmuzets broke up the old corrupt officials, who for a long time devastated the state's coffers. However, in their place quickly appeared new "leeches", which just as godlessly continued to drink all the juices from the people.

Therefore, despite all the efforts, the party does notcould alleviate the situation in which Charles was six. France was still in a sorry state, and the absence of a strong leader only aggravated this situation. The board of marmuzets lasted only 4 years (from 1388 to 1392), after which the king's uncles returned to power.

In captivity in insanity

Attacks of madness in Charles 6 began to manifestAfter he was ill in the spring of 1392 with a severe fever. At first, the symptoms were very rare, and their severity was insignificant. For example, Charles 6 could become abruptly irritable or allow himself to behave inappropriately in public.

But then the madness completely swallowed him. At moments of dementia, he became uncontrollable: he behaved like a six-year-old child, then attacked others with uncontrollable aggression. Once the king even rushed with a blade on his soldiers, while killing several poor people.

As a result, Karl VI withdrew from power. When his mind was clear, he led a quiet, secular life, and when he was again overcome by attacks, he would close himself in his room. Curiously, the only person who could manage the king at moments of insanity was his servant Odette de Shamdiver. It was she who spent the last 15 years of his detached life with Karl, being his friend, doctor and mistress.

The death of the king and the consequences of his reign

This ruler has a rather sad biography. Charles VI The Insane spent 42 years on the throne. At the same time for 30 years he was imprisoned in a demented state of weakness, which prevented him from taking over the country in his own hands. Thus, because of him, France had to go through very difficult times.

Torn apart by internal strife and arbitrariness, it has sunk into an abyss of uprisings, civil wars and internecine battles. By the time of Karl's death VI in 1422 the country was divided into counties,which actually became independent states. And people, exhausted by taxes and wars, only dreamed of a new, strong and independent king coming to them.